The stream was gurgling and the woods were full of fallen leaves. A gray hare emerged from the hole in the tree and jumped onto a pile of dead leaves. Its red eyes looked around vigilantly.
A bamboo arrow shot out with a "whoosh" and penetrated the hare's fragile head. Its short feet kicked twice in the dead leaves and then froze.
Jiang Ang came over with a simple bamboo bow, grabbed the two ears of the hare in his hand, lifted it up, weighed the weight, and said with satisfaction:
"There's still some meat, so I can finally have a tooth ceremony today! Damn it, it's only been a few days, and I'm starving to the skin and bones!"
"Thanks to Mr. Jiang's superb archery skills!" Several leaders who had escaped from Nancai City at the same time came out of their hiding places when they saw that there were no other prey in the woods.
After a while, Zhao Shan, who was in charge of guarding, slipped down from a tall tree in the distance.
Jiang Ang asked him: "What did you see?"
"There is a low slope outside the forest, and there is a river two to three hundred paces wide going south!" Zhao Shan said.
"That is the Juzhang River. With such a wide river, it should not be far from Dangyang City. Brother Zhao Shan, you are not familiar with Jingzhou. This Dangyang is where Zhang Fei, the famous general in the late Han Dynasty, broke the Dangyang Bridge.
Dangyang, there is a Dangyang Pavilion built on the bank of Juzhang River to commemorate this event. Damn it - there were not many heroes in Dangyang in later generations, and this Dangyang Pavilion was buried!" Jiang Ang said angrily.
After escaping from Nancaicheng, they first trudged through the swamp between Suolong Lake and Xichang Lake and arrived at the intersection of Jingjiang River and Hanjiang River.
At that time, except for Meidu, Xunjin and other places were controlled by Nancai soldiers and horses. When the Ezhou Navy saw that the Dongjing bandit army was so vulnerable and the remaining troops fled from Qianchapu in embarrassment, they wanted to take credit and almost all came to the rescue.
They cruised in the Jingjiang River and the Han River all day long. Any civilian boats that passed by would be intercepted and inspected, and they would catch some oil and water along the way.
Jiang Ang, Zhao Shan and others had no way to cross the Jingjiang River or the Han River from the south of Suolong Lake, so they had to get up early in the dark and rush to Yingzhou to the north of Hanchuan River. Taking advantage of the laxity of the Han River in Yingzhou, they could rob
He took a fishing boat and crossed the Han River. In order to escape the pursuit of soldiers who might be hunted on a large scale, he crossed Jingmen County and entered the Jingshan Mountains, and then went all the way over the mountains and ridges southward.
After finally reaching the Juzhang River at the southern foot of Jingshan Mountain, several people were dressed in rags, like beggars - and in the cold winter months, the vegetation in the mountains withered, and the birds and animals hid in winter. They could not find anything to eat, and they suffered from hunger all the way.
I have been starving for several months.
Entering Dangyang County in Jingzhou, although many cities are under the control of officers and soldiers, it is closer to Dongting Lake and the countryside has long been infiltrated by the Dongting and Jing coalition forces.
Jiang Ang first made his fortune on the banks of the Juzhang River, where he teamed up with a group of brothers to rob Jingzhou, Dangyang and other places to make a living as merchants. Later, he was severely encircled and suppressed by the government and could not survive, so he moved to Dongting Lake to settle down.
He is very familiar with the situation in this area.
It was only at this time that everyone dared to breathe a sigh of relief, but they did not know that Nan Cai had withdrawn the hunting troops long ago.
Deep in the creek bay, Jiang Ang and others sat on the ground, lit a bonfire with flints stolen from the farmer's house, and roasted the skinned hare on the bonfire until it became sizzling and oily, making everyone's index fingers big.
move.
"Master, what are you thinking about?" Zhao Shan tore up a big fat rabbit leg, carefully sprinkled some salt particles on it, for fear of leaking, then wrapped it in dried lotus leaves and handed it to Jiang Ang. Seeing that he looked worried,
asked.
"I don't know how many brothers escaped this time. I really have no shame in going back to Dongzhou Island!" Jiang Ang took the rabbit leg over, but thinking that the battle was so tragically defeated, there were five or six big and small bosses around him who followed him and escaped.
I don’t think this oily rabbit leg is so fragrant.
"Victory and defeat are common matters in military affairs, not to mention that Xu Huai is known as the God of the Vietnamese Army. It is not a shame to be defeated by him," Zhao Shan said consolingly, "No matter how many brothers escaped death this time, we are
I will definitely follow you, Mr. Jiang. Besides, there are hundreds of brothers and so many children on Dongzhou Island. Only Mr. Jiang follows your lead, how can Mr. Jiang leave them alone?"
"Yes, it is not embarrassing to lose to the Chushan Army. Master Jiang must not be discouraged and abandon us!" Everyone also hurriedly advised.
Jiang Ang looked at everyone intently for a while and asked: "Do you really think that I, old Jiang, was not unjustly defeated? Don't you think that I, old Jiang, are too incompetent?"
"Master Jiang, how could we lie to you when this happened?"
Zhao Shan said,
"If Mr. Jiang abandons us, we really don't know where to go and have no backbone! Besides, for today's defeat, the blame does not lie with Mr. Jiang. It is actually the three leaders who accepted the instigation of that surnamed Tian. There is obviously no benefit at all, but they insist on it.
They are entrenched to the east of the Han River and will not leave; Mr. Jiang, you have already lost your face with them several times. If they could listen to Mr. Jiang, how could they have suffered such a disastrous defeat? Wouldn’t we have returned to Dongzhou Island to be at ease? "
Others are not as eloquent as Zhao Shan, and their thinking is not as quick as him. At first glance, they felt that what Zhao Shan said was quite right, and they echoed: "What brother Zhao Shan said is very true. I cannot blame Master Jiang for this defeat!"
"By the way, when I was interrogated that day, the leader of Chushan said that Tian Rusheng was a lackey of the Hu people. Is this true or false? General Tiansheng, the three leaders will not be deceived by him and secretly collude with the Hu people, right?" Zhao Shan
Mentioning Tian Rusheng, he also said that this tragic defeat was purely caused by Tian Rusheng instigating Hu Dangzhou to occupy Qianchapu and not retreat. Immediately, some people thought of what they heard Zhou Jing say in the Nancai cell that day.
Zhao Shan said: "If it is true or false, we will find out if we send someone to Xingguo County, Ganzhou in the future, but this is not an urgent matter at this time!"
"Yes, we are in such a mess now, we can't control too much," Jiang Ang said, "Brother Zhao Shan, what do you think our top priority is now?"
"I have only been with Master Jiang for a short period of time, and I don't know much about the rules of the Dongjing Army. However, I committed a crime when I was young and was sent to the Imperial Army as a soldier. I have been with him for more than ten years, and I have seen some dirty things," Zhao Shan said.
Said, "Whenever a general in the army dies in battle, few people will think of passing on the things behind him, such as money, etc., to his family. Most of the time, you will share some in private, and I will eat and wipe it all."
I am worried now that rushing back to Dongzhou Island at this time may not go smoothly..."
Zhao Shan was born in Wanqiu, Chenzhou. He committed crimes in his early years and was charged as a soldier of the imperial army. When Bianliang fell, he escaped from Bianliang City with the rebels, and then went south. He found refuge in Tianmen Mountain of Yingzhou after all the hardships, where he fell into captivity and became a bandit.
of rural people.
The Dongjing Army sneaked into Huangpi, Hanchuan and other places, and Zhao Shan joined the local people and surrendered to Panlong Village.
At its peak, Panlong Village gathered tens of thousands of people, most of whom were hungry people stranded in the mountains and lakes who came to seek refuge. Zhao Shan was only a small leader among his fellow villagers.
Jiang Ang met Zhao Shan several times in Panlong Village, but didn't pay much attention to it. However, he was able to escape from Nancai this time because of Zhao Shan's cleverness. After that, he hid in Tibet and detoured all the way. Jiang Ang even saw that Zhao Shan
He is good at doing things, capable and experienced, and his martial arts are also extraordinary, so I rely on him more.
Jiang Ang has a rude temperament, but he is not stupid.
Before the thirty-six families formed the Dongjing Alliance Army, various forces fought for territory in Dongting Lake and Jingjiang River, not once or twice.
Jiang Ang himself was worried about rushing back to his old nest, but Dongzhou Island, where his old nest was located, had already been occupied by others.
Therefore, he needed to find out more about what the people who had followed him back were thinking.
It is a coincidence that, except for Zhao Shan and another small boss, the seven prisoners imprisoned in the same cell are all the big and small bosses of Dongzhou Island.
Although after pulling the lever, these seven or eight people have been following him to rob homes and homes for at least six or seven years, but the most difficult thing to predict in the world is the human heart.
If someone really thinks that he has died in Qianchapu and has taken possession of Dongzhou Island and all the families on the island, will these seven or eight people and Zhao Shan follow him to take Dongzhou Island back, or simply
Jiang Ang was really confused when he quickly switched to another brand.
It was Zhao Shan who was also considerate and basically helped him get the conversation out of the way. Jiang Ang also sighed and said at this time: "If General Tiansheng mistakenly thinks that we have fallen into the hands of Chushan and cannot escape, according to the rules, he will not arrange for other leaders to
The one who took over Dongzhou Island..."
"We can't get away. It's not surprising that Dongzhou Island is under the control of other brands. But we all escaped and went back to Dongzhou Island. Isn't it natural for other brands to hand over Dongzhou Island?" Someone asked doubtfully,
I don't know what Jiang Ang is worried about.
"That's what I said, but if it were you, would you be willing to spit out the fat in your mouth easily?" Jiang Ang shook his head and said with a sad face, "I only have a few brothers around me, and others insist on not spitting it out.
, what else can we do? Forget it, forget it, the brand name Dongzhoudao should be disbanded, we should go our separate ways from now on, lest Chiang Kai-shek and I miss you brothers!"
"Master Jiang, what are you talking about?" Zhao Shan stood up and said angrily, "Are you looking down on the brothers and suspecting that we have the intention to find another company after we return? Although I, Zhao Shan, have not been in Dongting for a day
I have been around in the lake, and I don’t know the rules of Dongting Lake, but in my early years, I, Zhao Shan, wandered around the rivers and lakes in Hehuai. If anyone dares to be half-hearted, he will go in with a white knife and come out with a red knife! If Mr. Jiang doesn’t believe us, please chop him to death with a knife.
Let’s pull it down!”
Zhao Shan pulled out a half-stolen hatchet from the rope around his waist, knelt on the ground, raised the hatchet high and said, "If Mr. Jiang suspects that we are half-hearted, please hold this knife."
Chop me to death!"
Only then did everyone understand what Jiang Ang was worried about. Seeing Zhao Shan's statement, they did not dare to be careless at the moment. They all knelt down and swore: "If we have any half-hearted intentions, we will be punished by heaven and earth, and we will not die easy!"
"Oh, why should I doubt you? I'm really worried that my incompetence will impede all the brothers again!" Jiang Ang walked over, hugged Zhao Shan's arms, lifted him up, and said loudly, "However, I will survive the disaster.
, I will be blessed later, and this time of living and dying together has also made me realize how truly benevolent and righteous you are in treating me. If you brothers do not abandon me, then today the nine of us will officially become brothers of different surnames and return to
Dongzhou Island shares its difficulties and enjoys its blessings..."
